Discounted workouts, dinners . . . and apartments?

Next week, the luxury deal site, which until now has stuck to discounts in the realm of restaurants, high-end fitness and spa services, travel and charity events, will run an apartment rental offer that gives buyers two months of free rent in the Mondial building in River West.

For $2,600, a Gilt City customer can snag the first three months of a 12-month lease on a two-bedroom, two-bath unit. According to Gilt City Chicago's market leader, Jason Berngard — a former commercial real estate executive who spearheaded the deal with building owner Waterton Residential — that translates into $5,200 in savings. (According to the Mondial website, two-bedroom, two-bath units range from $2,486 to $3,088 per month.)

Deal buyers also skip a security deposit and the $400 administration fee. The regular rental rates go back into effect at the beginning of the fourth month.

If you're looking to upgrade, similar deals will also be available for “deluxe” two-bedrooms ($2,925 for the first three months) or the building's penthouse ($7,500 for three months).

The deal is the first of its kind in Chicago, though Gilt City just completed a similar offer for a loft building near Boston and has plans for one in New York, too.

“When the Boston offer ran, the floodgates really opened and a bunch of real estate companies started calling,” Mr. Berngard says. “We expect to continue to offer other real estate packages” in Chicago — both for residential units and shared office space.

He wouldn't divulge the number of units in the Mondial being offered through Gilt City, calling it a “limited amount.” Each unit comes with a private balcony, natural wood floors, granite kitchen countertops and stainless-steel KitchenAid appliances. The bedrooms are carpeted.

Gilt City deal buyers do have to pay a $50 application fee and pass a credit and background check. If a deal buyer fails the checks, Gilt City will return the deal purchase price and offer it to someone on the waiting list.

The deal launches next Monday.

The 141-unit Mondial, completed in 2009, began as a condo building but struggled to sell units following the real estate market's collapse. Last April, after slashing asking prices by 30%, the developer, Jack Berger of Citta Development LLC, handed off the 124 unsold units to Waterton for $31 million, or about $250,000 per unit.

As my real estate colleagues reported, Mr. Berger began marketing the project in 2006 but failed to make sales as the property buckled under the weight of a $38-million construction loan that was scheduled to come due in June 2012. (Read more about the building's turbulent history here.)

Gilt City, which launched in Chicago at the end of 2010 and also operates in 12 other cities, is an offshoot of Gilt Groupe Inc., a luxury fashion flash site started in New York in 2007.